Jan. 21, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. For the second time in eight days, the Iowa Hawkeyes came up on the short end of a meeting with nationally ranked Michigan State, this time by a 67-57 score Sunday in the Breslin Center on the MSU campus. Lisa Bluder’s squad was an 83-63 victim of the Spartan last Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.
In each game, the difference was Michigan State’s Allyssa DeHaan. The freshman center scored 16 points Sunday to lead all scorers. More impressive, however, was her seven blocked shots and the fact that she held Iowa’s Megan Skouby to just eight points, four of which coming from free throw line.
Iowa was led in scoring by point guard Kristi Smith and forward Krista VandeVenter. Each had 13 points for the visitors. Smith also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. The Hawkeyes’ Wendy Ausdemore struggled from the field, hitting just two of 11 field goal attempts. Iowa shot just 38 percent from the field as a team.
Aisha Jefferson and Mia Johnson each scored 10 points for the Spartans. Victoria Lucas-Perry was credited with nine rebounds. Michigan State shot an even 50 percent from the field.
The Spartans used an 11-2 run capped by a layup by Rene Haynes with 14:09 left in the second half to break the game open. The Hawkeyes never got any closer than seven points in the game’s final 10 minutes.
The loss – Iowa’s first in four Big Ten Conference road games to date – drops Bluder’s Bunch to 11-9 overall and 3-4 in league action. The win pushes Michigan state to 15-4, 6-1.
Iowa returns to action on Thursday against Minnesota. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.